Cerebrospinal Fluid Lactate Determination: A New Parameter for the Diagnosis of Acute and Partially Treated Meningitis

Summary

The lactic acid level in the cerebrospinal fluid of 250 patients with or without bacterial involvement was determined using Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC). This recently rediscovered technique proved effective and reliable in distinguishing between bacterial (21 cases) and non bacterial (179 cases) meningitis. There were no false positives nor false negatives in either category. Partially treated meningitis had elevated CSF lactate on admission. The duration of elevated CSF lactate correlated with the clinical response to therapy. This simple and rapid technique warrants further evaluation as a parameter to detect bacterial central nervous system invasion.